University of Alaska President Pitney Announces UAA Chancellor Finalists

August 22, 2025

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2025

University of Alaska President Pitney Announces UAA Chancellor Finalists

Four candidates to visit Anchorage campus between Sept. 8-18

(ANCHORAGE) - University of Alaska (UA) President Pat Pitneytoday announced that she has selected four finalists in the search for the next Chancellor of the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). Each finalist will visit the Anchorage campus between September 8 and September 18, 2025, engaging with the UAA community through two days of meetings, tours and open forum events.

"I'm pleased to have such a qualified group of candidates for consideration to lead UAA," President Pitney said. "These campus visits are a crucial opportunity for the UAA community to engage with each candidate and provide feedback. I encourage everyone to participate in the open forums and to share your perspectives as we move forward in selecting UAA's next chancellor."

Selected with the help of the chancellor search committee co-chaired by former UA Board of Regents Chair Sheri Burettaand UAA Faculty Senate Past-President Dr. Jackie Cason, the finalists will each visit campus between September 8 and September 18 for meetings with students, faculty, staff and university stakeholders. These visits will include a community open forum and reception.

"This is an exciting and important time for UAA," said Buretta and Dr. Cason. "We encourage students, faculty, staff, alumni and community members to participate in these campus visits and help shape the future of our university."

Each finalist will also participate in a community open forum, and the Anchorage Community is invited to attend to get to know the finalist candidates. All forums will be held at the UAA/APU Consortium Library, on the 3rd Floor Gallery and Conference Room 307:

• Jennifer Capps, Ph.D.
  Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs, California State Polytechnic University Humboldt
  Visit Dates: September 8-9; Community Forum: Monday, September 8, 5:30 p.m.
• Diane Hirshberg, Ph.D.
  Director of the Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage
  Visit Dates: September 11-12; Community Forum: Wednesday, September 10, 5:30 p.m.
• John R. Ballard, Ph.D.
  President, National Intelligence University
  Visit Dates: September 15-16; Community Forum: Monday, September 15, 5:30 p.m.
• Aaron Dotson, Ph.D.
  Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Alaska Anchorage
  Visit Dates: September 17-18; Community Forum: Wednesday, September 17, 5:30 p.m.

Further details about the finalists, including biographies and CVs, as well as information about their visits, will be updated on the UAA Chancellor Searchwebpage.

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For more information, contact Jonathon Taylor, UA director of public affairs, at [email protected] or 907-350-0168 (cell); or Tanya Pont, UAA executive director of advancement, at (907) 764-2881 or via email at [email protected].